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Flying Feet 5K, 1 March 2008.
Arbaugh, Walter Capture Inaugural Flying Feet 5K.

After years of competing on the courses at Hashawha and usually losing, runners were more than a little skeptical when Dave Griffin said that he was going to produce a "friendlier" course for the first version of the Flying Feet 5K.

In this election year the early results seem to indicate that Griff was right. The course was largely on paved roads, which meant no grass, roots, swamps, or rocks to conquer. While there were some hills, they were not nearly so bad as many remember. The amenities--restrooms, food, and parking--were also appreciated. Even though the field of twenty-eight was smaller than might have been expected, good reports from this year's race might increase the size of next year's.

As the field charged about a loop at the top of the camp grounds, South Carroll High School and Gettysburg College graduate Darrin Arbaugh and Victor Cretella, who completed the recent ten mile run in Columbia in just over an hour, left the rest of the field behind as they covered the first mile, complete with a nice downhill, in 5:55, with John Schmitt, Eric Tringali, Thomas Carpenter, and James Moreland leading those trying with little success to catch the leaders.

During the middle portion of the course--an out-and-back section on John Owings Road, leading from the entrance to Camp Hashawha to Md Rt 496, Bachmans Valley Road--Arbaugh gradually invented a small lead. At the two mile mark, just after the turnaround, his time of 12:25 gave him a five second lead over Cretella, a lead which he maintained that to the finish. Schmitt finished nearly two minutes later in third as the first masters runner, and he and Arbaugh are now course record holders, until next year's race or infinity, whichever comes first.

With Carpenter forced to withdraw, Tringali finished fourth, ahead of Moreland, who ran by himself for most of the race, in fifth.

The women's race was as close as the men's at the finish, with Rachel Walter finishing five seconds ahead of Jenn Ziolkowski. Christa Binns finished third, a minute and a half later, with masters runners Dorothy Carpenter and Lisa Hughes also in the top five.

Later in the field but unique in their own ways were Chrissy Pennington, pushing Sadie, and Glenn Smink, dragging Lucy, to the finish. Sadie has stunning blue eyes, and Lucy has soft black and white fur. They too could be offered as inducements for next year's race.